Bolar Mountain Recreation Area

Beautiful lake and campground

Nice camp sites and clean vault toilets. This campground is remote with no cell service. There is no firewood available at the campground, so grab some on your way in. Nearest town was 30 minute drive. Be bear aware - keep food stored safely. Lake water is super clear, we enjoyed spending the day at the beach.

This lake and campground is a hidden gem

Take toilet paper. There is no camp house in campground 2. Was out of paper from Tuesday till midday Wednesday.

Bolar Mountain Recreation Area is a beautiful place that is being terribly managed by the U.S. Forest Service. Our campsite was #27. The first thing I saw upon arrival was the overgrown vegetation all around. My second big surprise was the latrined. When I opened the door a swarm of flying insects rose up out of the many gallons of human excrement. I closed the door and went into the Womens toilet. It was slightly better but not enough for a return trip. From that point forward I relieved myself behind a tree. Some of the buildings were in need of paint. The signage was lacking. I will also add that we drove by to after hours host camper but never found anyone there not even a note. I spoke with a man at a local store who told me that despite there being 30 employees at the site the county was constantly being called upon for assistance with weed whacking. Shame on the Forest Service for your lack of concern and utter disrespect for such a lovely place

Very clean and spacious sites. Love that each site has a fire pit and picnic table. Bathrooms and showers were cleaned daily and stocked with soap and toilet paper. We will be returning next season!

I had a wonderful time tenting at Lake Moomaw the week before Labor Day. Few visitors and the lake was all mine! I kayaked for hours, enjoying the fog blotting the water and mountains in the morning and the evenings. Too much eye candy to bother fishing. It gets pretty muddy accessing a kayak when the water level is low, but the hot showers and clean restrooms more than compensate.
I always take the back roads between Moomaw and the IGA at Hot Springs for provisions. Traveling along the adjacent brooks feeding the lake is always a joy!
I watched a bear cub meander across my path with little urgency by the Marina (closed).
Later, leaving the campsite to retrieve more firewood from IGA, a Mom and cub crossed the road immediately before the entrance shack. A few minutes later a Linx? Bobcat? strolled ahead of my Jeep near McClintic Point campground. Driving adjacent Hot Springs Run, I stopped to watch two of the most peculiar 'deer(?)' I have ever seen! Too tall from my experience, standing in the water 40-feet away, staring at me for at least 60-seconds. Both stood face to face with 6- and 10-inch tall, very thick blunt spikes, covered heavily with velvet. I have never seen any deer like these before and I'm 71-years old.
I've camped in Moomaw and the surrounding campgrounds for more than four decades. Visitors seem to be on the decline and that may be a good thing. Exceptional beauty and peace awaits those who care to seek out this more distant and difficult to find campground.
Do arrive by way of Richardson Gorge Road, but BEWARE, albeit a well maintained single lane gravel roadway, it hangs on a cliff cut into the mountain. I have sighted much wildlife crossing this road and the river valley below. Perfect for passenger rubbernecking - but the driver MUST keep his eyes on the road for oncoming vehicles and blind turns. Otherwise choose Bolar's Draft Rd SR600.
Give Moomaw a try next year when it opens once more. You'll be glad you did.

The area is gorgeous and the campground was deserted the last 3 days of the 2024 season.

Nice we were just the only ones there

Beautiful campsites with adequate space and electricity. No water at the sites was a bit of a bummer.